Israel to become center of new 'oil and gas rush'

Monday, April 12, 2010 |
Israel Today Staff

A top US energy industry expert believes Israel is going to soon experience an "oil and gas rush" by major Western energy development companies.

Speaking to the Israeli financial newspaper Globes, Fred Zeidman said the recent discovery of a massive natural gas field off Israel's Mediterranean coast had drawn the attention of every major Western energy company.

Israeli companies Delek and Isramco have already tapped the natural gas field, together with British energy giant Noble Energy. Zeidman noted that quite often, "as soon as Noble goes to a place, many other companies follow in its wake."

That could mean an enormous economic boom for Israel and its transformation overnight into a major international energy exporter.

The natural gas field in the Levant Basin (the western Mediterranean) is estimated to hold 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, making it the largest natural gas resource ever found. The area is also believed to contain at least 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

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